At Home/On Stage: Asian American Representation in Photography and Film
Cantor Arts Center: Ruth Levison Halperin Gallery
August 31, 2022–January 15, 2023
Lai Yong, May's Photo Studio, Ricardo Ocreto Alvarado, Reagan Louie, Michael Jang, Gloria Wong, Patty Chang, Stephanie Syjuco, Edward Steichen, Yasumasa Morimura, Chao-Chen Yang, Miljohn Ruperto, Andy Warhol, Leo Holub, Irene Poon
This exhibition explores work by Asian American artists addressing issues of identity and representation. Featuring photographs, film, and video spanning the twentieth century, it focuses on artworks made since the 1970s, a period of sweeping activism that demanded more and better representation in politics, education, and culture. The term Asian American was coined in 1968 as part of these efforts, serving as a banner under which members of various communities could organize in support of similar goals, while also necessitating a renegotiation of personal and group identities.
At Home / On Stage is premised on the idea that photography, film, and video are key mediums for considering histories of representation. They have been employed both to spread harmful depictions of Asian Americans and to oppose such portrayals. They also have long been used for private as well as public consumption, inspiring the two thematic sections of the exhibition. “On Stage” responds to troubling histories of limited and insulting roles for Asian Americans in performing and visual arts, and their struggles for opportunities behind and in front of the camera. Through portraits by and of Asian Americans, and conceptual projects reappropriating art historical and cinematic imagery, the works in this section raise questions about performance on stage and off. “At Home” responds to the same pernicious stereotypes by picturing Asian Americans—the artists’ own friends and family—in their home lives.
The exhibition also includes work made before 1970 that demonstrates the role photography has historically played in documenting Asian American life and shaping individual, family, and community identity. By including this material, the exhibition connects this history to the topics and strategies engaged by contemporary Asian American photographers and filmmakers to not only redress negative representation but critique the idea of representation itself.
The exhibition celebrates several new acquisitions made in support of the Cantor’s Asian American Art Initiative (AAAI). These acquisitions strengthen the Cantor’s holdings of photography and new media and contribute to the AAAI’s ability to demonstrate that Asian American artists have made important contributions in a variety of artistic media, including film and photography.